Inferno, page 5
part #1 of MetroGen Forbidden Love Duets Series
“A toolbox did it. Luna didn’t have anything to do with it. She warned us in time,” Vanessa said.
“I wasn’t even in the barn at the time. I bear no responsibility. No ice. No punching people out. No throwing things at me during physical therapy,” Williams added calmly. The remaining crew traded side-eyes. Their mean captain was teasing the bat chief? It hadn’t been a rumor that they were stuck in physical therapy together after all.
“Once USAR clears the safety of the building and HazMat removes the tank, I’ll be calling the insurance assessor again. And hauling the rig to the equipment graveyard in Geauga County again,” McClunis sighed.
“You don’t think we can patch it?” Williams said.
“Just for that, I’ll make you pay.” McClunis growled and snapped her fingers. “Knight!”
“Yes, ma’am.” Vanessa ran forward.
“Why don’t you and the captain head over to the office? I’m donating a hundred dollars per shift for basketball pizzas.”
“Pizza?” Williams repeated.
“Of course. You only have two women on your team, and Firehouse 13 recruited a woman from Rescue Alpha. Since you we can’t spare anymore women, we’ll have to make up for it in-depth on the men’s side.”
“But pizza.”
“Also ice cream. Every single shift,” McClunis continued as the tall captain was force marched past the debris to his office. “Lieutenant Clarke, monitor the incident and call us if needed.”
Other teams arrived and shipped off the injured. Urban search and rescue cordoned off the area of the outer wall, which left Erin corralled with Aiden in an opposite corner from Theo and Carver. She asked quietly, “Are you okay?”
Aiden fiddled with his watch on his left wrist, which concealed the scar from his attempt to cut his wrist on Veterans Day. “I’m fine. Why?”
Unbidden, she glanced at her captain’s office. Noah had revealed he’d found Jacen Williams trying something similar almost six years ago after the death of his wife. From Noah’s description, Jacen had been a very different type of person before. It was possible he was on the path to becoming that person again, but it would be better if Aiden didn’t fall so far first.
“You seemed… tense at the start of the scene.”
“It was nothing. I had a flashback. It was a little one this time.”
“This time?” Erin asked, keeping her voice low.
“When I saw the scaffolding fall, I was there, with Trina.”
“Trina?” Erin had been elsewhere in the apartment complex when their floor collapsed. She’d never gotten the full story of what haunted Aiden.
“Her name was Trina Nguyen. Her parents were on her balcony, which detached from the building on the twenty-sixth floor.” He gritted his teeth. “They were identified by DNA from their grown son.”
“You don’t have to go on.”
“I do. My counselor says each time I try to avoid confronting it, it pushes me into more shame and hiding.” He took a deep breath. “Trina was fifteen. When the balcony gave way, she got buried under a wall.”
Erin nodded. “Like the scaffolding.”
He agreed, “Pretty much. I got Trina out, but we were too late. I watched the doctors try to bring her back… The flashbacks used to last longer. This one was only a few seconds.”
“Progress?”
“I hope so. It gets a little easier each time I tell someone or ask for help.”
“I’m here anytime. I’ll even give you my extra cookie.”
“Oh, I’m getting so many cookies. Bat chief’s orders,” he teased her.
“We’d better win. Especially if we broke the rig again.”
“I think it’s Luna,” he joked, since Luna was their consistent thread of their regularly trashed equipment.
Chapter 6
A few weeks later, the construction was over, and the A-shift had finished line up and was getting ready to go home when Theo reminded everyone, “Remember, we’re meeting at the lounge.”
“Why?” Erin asked. It had been a busy shift with lots of little fires.
“Didn’t you get the email? Chief Baker is going to be on the morning show. He’s the climactic date on the Valentine’s series of Cuyahoga’s Most Eligible Bachelors.”
Erin checked her watch. Noah had said the fake date was scheduled for around 6:30 am. So, it was after nine now. “Oh, that.”
A few weeks ago, encouraging him to go on this fake date seemed like a fabulous idea. Now that it was here, she was practically levitating with jealousy. Worse, she’d have to pretend everything was just fine in front of her friends without losing her mind.
“Can we eat in the lounge? Baker’s so hot!” Vanessa said.
Everyone turned to Luna, who had become rather protective of each new piece of furniture and equipment because she of her curse as the black cloud of Firehouse 15. “Only if we’re careful. No popcorn. Or coffee. Or sodas!”
“The couch is blue for a reason,” Kevin said. “Hides the blood stains better.” He had ended up with another tetanus shot and seventeen stitches.
Everyone tromped up the stairs and grabbed coffee, immediately ignoring Luna’s rules. Erin sat on the floor, hoping something new would (non-fatally) explode and spare her suffering through this. Kevin and Theo had gotten into watching the features of each eligible bachelor.
“Countdown to Valentine’s Day,” Aiden cooed, as the stylized graphics popped up over the ‘New Day Cleveland’ intro.
“It’s Valentine’s Day and what better thing to do than take your honey out on a date? Let’s join our very own Laura Landers, who is out with Cuyahoga’s Most Eligible Bachelor, Fire Chief Noah Baker, at a romantic brunch at a Cleveland original, the North Star Cafe.”
Whoever was in charge of costuming definitely knew their audience, because the reporter wore an almost too low-cut dress, and Noah was in khakis and a dark blue sweater. The man was totally catnip, especially with the blue bringing out his eyes.
They watched Laura and Noah make small talk about the atmosphere of the restaurant and the menu. The host, dressed down as a Spock, dropped off Alternate Timeline Pancakes and branded New Day Cleveland coffee mugs.
“Oh, I love these pancakes. Is this organic maple syrup?” Laura cooed.
“I believe so. The pancakes are made with cruelty free organic ricotta cheese,” Noah said, certainly reading off a cue card. “Fresh strawberries.”
“Sounds great.” Their hands touched briefly while passing the fruit. The cameras zoomed in for quick reaction shots of their faces, followed by Laura slowly sliding the strawberry into her mouth with obvious pleasure.
“She’s panting,” Luna said in disbelief. “Is this an orgasm joke?”
“Hell yes,” Vanessa agreed. “She wants him to eat her berries.”
“I appreciate how suave he is. Keeping a little distance, a little mystery. I might try the aloof persona. Might freshen up my game.” Kevin sipped some coffee.
The reporter kept fiddling with her collarbone, clearly visible by the low neckline.
“You think she’s gonna take off her bra?” Aiden said. “Is she supposed to act like she’s in heat?”
“I’m in heat!” Theo exclaimed.
The reporter put both of her hands on the table. “Tell me what it’s like to be fire chief.”
“It’s the greatest job in the world. I’m tasked with the job of protecting our communities. Making sure we’re there when you need us, keeping you safe, and saving lives.”
“Excellent answer!” Kevin toasted the Chief with his cup of coffee.
“No spilling!” Luna shrieked.
“But isn’t it dangerous?” the reporter asked.
“That’s what makes it the worst job in the world. I have to make decisions, send my people into danger. It never gets easier. And the buck stops with me.”
“It sounds so lonely.” Laura reached across the table and laid her hand on his.
Erin once again suppressed her desire to rip the blonde’s ear off. She vowed not to never ever make a horrible plan like this.
“What a hussy!” Vanessa shouted.
“He can’t stand it,” their captain said from behind them.
“What?” Aiden said, and everyone’s heads snapped around. Luna made a valiant dive and caught Aiden’s coffee before it spilled anywhere.
“He’s still wearing his Chief face,” Williams said.
“Chief face?” Kevin asked.
The captain gave them a pointed look, and Kevin immediately cleared off the couch so the captain could take his seat. “He was my captain for a while, and he’s very good at hiding his emotions.”
Referring to Noah as merely his captain was understatement, but Erin wasn’t going to call him out on that. In fact, if he knew Noah so well, it was best if Williams never saw Erin and Noah together. Noah made every effort to never have his path cross with Erin’s while she was on duty.
“He doesn’t look unhappy,” Kevin said.
“Oh, he’s unhappy. He just isn’t showing how pissed he is. It doesn’t happen much, but you’ll know when he loses his temper.”
“I almost saw it once,” Aiden said. “After Luna crashed the fire truck.”
“You punched the victim out. I wasn’t alone in this,” Luna said.
Carver added, “I’ve seen him frustrated. We hid in the nutrition closet at MetroGen once.”
“I’m not touching that one,” Theo said.
“It’s not the same. You ever see a firestorm? A real firestorm?” Williams asked. They shook their heads, “Imagine a level five tornado overhead but made of fire. It’s the same, but multiplied by a hundred.”
Erin stayed silent. She was supposed to chime in with something, but she couldn’t. She had seen Noah angry—at her—no less, a few times.
“I can’t believe you’re single. It’s Valentine’s Day. Tell me what you’re looking for in the perfect woman,” Laura said on the TV.
Noah wiped off his mouth with a napkin and addressed the camera. “I need someone who can stand on her own two feet and is a lot funnier than I am. She has to be tolerant too, because when the county needs me, the county needs me. Oh, and she has to like Star Trek.”
It wasn’t fair. The man practically glowed all American bravery and heroism.
“My ovaries are singing! I’ve gone totally straight!” Vanessa joked.
“And what can you offer a girl?” Laura was panting this time.
“My undying devotion. And I can make a heck of a Thanksgiving dinner. I used to make the turkey every year at Firehouse 33.”
“I’ve switched sides!” Aiden announced. “Especially if his turkey is even better than Erin’s was this year.”
“That’s adorable,” gushed Laura, and Noah smiled.
“See, he looks happy,” Carver said.
“No. That’s fake Chief happy,” Williams said, and Erin wholeheartedly agreed. Truly happy Noah was even more powerful than angry Noah.
The rest of the date was quickly edited down, skipping them eating, and preparing for the goodbye.
“Five bucks they hug,” Kevin suggested.
“I think he’s more romantic than that. He’s going to kiss her hand. Ten bucks,” Theo said.
Erin silently added Theo to her shit list.
Aiden disagreed. “She’s going to kiss his cheek. They can’t be that sexy on the morning show. Twenty bucks.”
“No, no, no. My thirty says it’s going to be a full mouth kiss with slow-mo,” Luna said.
“Slow-mo?” Carver asked.
“Absolutely slow-mo,” Vanessa agreed. “They want ratings. Fifty says they’ll show it slow-mo from a couple of different angles.”
Money was flying, and Kevin asked why Erin wasn’t betting.
“Forgot my cash today. Already spent my moolah on an expensive present for Han,” Erin went with the half-truth. Noah’s Christmas present had been a Halligan bar for his Chief Car when they’d gotten back together. Valentine’s Day was a weekend near Alpine valley for skiing at a Geauga County Bed and Breakfast.
“Here we go,” Kevin narrated. “The female lioness will begin the traditional goodbye sequence in the courtship.”
“I had such a great time.” Laura stood up, and Noah followed. He placed a generous amount of cash on the table.
“Chief’s a good tipper,” Carver commented.
“And a gentleman, he’s helping her with her coat,” Vanessa cackled. Noah was already in his coat, totally suave and debonair.
“And now the female lioness will commit to the last act in the mating ritual,” Kevin intoned.
They paused, facing each other, and the music swelled because Laura stepped forward and planted a kiss straight on Noah’s mouth.
Multiple angles in slow-mo captured the kiss, and the camera cut to his crestfallen expression, and then hers. It was edited expertly to appear they had shared some grand passion.
The screen transitioned to the usual morning show anchor sitting with Laura and the other anchors. She was still in her red dress, and her co-hosts were fanning themselves.
“What happened next?!” the co-host asked.
“I can’t say, but it was so satisfying… and I’ll know more tonight.”
Erin was pissed as hell. Were they seriously suggesting her Fire Chief was a man whore? Noah would be spending the night with ERIN, not some fucking New Day Cleveland hussy…
Be calm. No screaming.
Vanessa collected the money and did a little dance. “Told you, slow-mo kiss, multiple angles.”
“Not so fast. Think he banged her?” Aiden asked and dropped a ten on the table. “She seemed hot for it.”
“Nah, second base,” Luna added a five. “They probably cut it for TV.”
“No way. Remember how in shape he was back when he was our captain? He’s totally a stevedore during sex,” Kevin objected.
“You think she’d let him hit the back door?” Theo put his money in.
“I think he’d be a good listener and takes direction well. He absolutely went down on her,” Vanessa tossed in a twenty. “What do you think, Erin?”
“Umm,” Erin needed to re-direct questions away from her before she burst. “I’m not sure how we’re going to settle the winner of this. Captain, can you ask him?”
Williams turned a few shades darker red. “Ask him what? If he skipped off work to have sex with the news anchor? Right. I’ll send an email right away.”
“No wonder you’re single,” Kevin advised. “You ease into the convo. Ask if more happened than we saw on TV. Then ask if her body looks better up close. Or naked.”
“Ask if her boobs were real,” Vanessa suggested.
“He might not have taken her clothes off. Does he seem like someone who’d do it fast and dirty without getting naked?” Theo said.
“Take him out for a beer. Grease the wheels first,” Aiden advised him.
“You guys don’t understand. Noah… the Chief… would never.” The captain searched for a way to escape.
“Would never engage in premarital carnal delights?” Kevin was grinning at Williams’s discomfort.
“I can’t say that, but he never does anything he doesn’t want to. Anyone who knew him would know he wanted to be anywhere else, and he’d be pissed they put her up to the kiss.”
“Then I guess we owe you money.” Erin snatched up the pile of cash and handed to Williams.
“I guess you do.”
“If you aren’t going to ask the Chief about banging her,” Kevin asked. “Could you ask if he can submit my name for next year’s list? I wouldn’t mind a date with an easy news anchor.”
Everyone laughed as the captain went beet red, mumbling something about it being lucky they were off duty.
Erin laughed too, rather than strangle them or scream into a paper bag. It was over. Done. And she only had to wait twelve more hours to see Noah.
She could survive.
Chapter 7
Noah quietly unlocked the door to his house. After spending a useless morning yesterday on his fake date, he should have been at his office. Yet he needed to see Erin. He had to tell her the truth.
He walked into their bedroom and saw her sleeping form on her side of the bed. Unsure of waking her or not, he sat down on his side without removing his uniform.
She didn’t react, being such a sound sleeper. He carefully leaned over to shake her shoulder.
“What? How? I’m coming. I’ll get my turnouts on.” She sat straight up, apparently confused about the time and place.
“Erin.”
“Noah. It’s noon. Aren’t you at work? Did something happen?” She checked the clock.
“I… wanted to see you.”
“Oh.” Erin pushed the covers off her chest, and he saw she was wearing one of his Firehouse 33 T-shirts. He took it as an encouraging sign. “I didn’t expect you till later tonight.”
“I’m taking a long lunch. And I can’t stand to see another picture of the North Star Cafe.”
Erin snorted. “I noticed. You and Laura’s kiss became the official CCFD screensaver.”
“I’m getting it taken down. I’m not going to let Fitzpatrick milk this for—”
“Noah. I hate it, but leave it up.”
“No. Erin, you don’t understand. I had no idea she was going to… the agreed-upon plan was for me to be a gentleman and help her with her coat.” His skin had been crawling ever since she’d touched him. It was a karmic layer of shame radiating off his skin.
“Well, at least she was pretty.”
“Didn’t even notice. She could have been an ogre.” He put his arm around her and she let him. His pulse slowed, and he kissed her hair. “I’ll take them down. It’s not fair to you.”
“If you leave them up, this one fake date will confuse everyone for a long time. No one will ever suspect us.” She lay her head on his chest, right over his heart.
He kissed her hair, finally letting go of the tension. “You might say it’s okay, but it isn’t. You deserve so much more than this. I don’t want… I never want… I can’t stand the thought of you feeling for even a second like you’re a dirty secret.”
